Healthy Lifestyle

Beberapa waktu ini, temen – temen gue banyak membicarakan tentang lifestyle yang sehat, tentang bagaimana kita hidup di dalam lingkungan kita. Lifestyle pun aspeknya luas, bisa dari urusan menjaga kesehatan dari pola makan, olahraga, dan jam istirahat, lalu pergaulan, bahkan tentang bagaimana kita plan kehidupan kita, dan ga hanya sekedar "que sera sera" alias whatever will be, will be. Kita punya kontrol bagaimana menjalani hidup kita, kearah mana, dan jangan sampai "terhanyut" dalam arus keseharian yang tanpa kita sadari ga membawa kita kemana-mana. 

Nah, hal yang ingin gue bagikan kali ini adalah kegiatan gue dalam menjalani hari-hari yang sudah beberapa waktu gue coba terapkan sebagai bagian dari usaha membangun lifestyle yang sehat :D 

Pertama, dipagi hari, sebelum beraktivitas, gue pergi berolahraga. Temen gue baru aja kemarin bilang, bukannya olahraga dipagi hari malah membuat siangnya kelelahan dan ngantuk? Faktanya tidak loh, Lokals! Justru olahraga pagi membantu gue untuk lebih berkonsentrasi dengan baik dan menjaga fokus dalam berpikir saat melakukan aktivitas sehari-hari. Gue jadi lebih segar pas bekerja di kantor. 

Pertanyaan selanjutnya mungkin tentang susah bangun pagi dan mau olahraga dimana. Untuk segala sesuatu yang pertama mungkin memang sulit, tapi untuk sesuatu yang baik, kita harus belajar untuk berkomitmen. hehe Olahraga bisa dilakukan dengan berlari di kompleks sekeliling rumah, atau bisa seperti gue; pergi gym di Gold Gym, atau di pusat gym lainnya. Sudah banyak yang buka dari jam 6 pagi, dan ada kelas-kelas yang menarik untuk diikuti, semisal yoga. Oh, i love yoga!

Di siang hari, gue mengurangi asupan karbohidrat. Walaupun pas siang orang bilang tidak apa-apa makan karbohidrat dan tidak perlu khawatir gemuk, sebenarnya bukan itu concern gue. Concern-nya adalah, kalau siang makan karbohidrat terlalu banyakpun, alhasil sisa siang gue jadi useless karena jadi ngantuk banget. Makan terlalu banyak membuat oksigen dalam tubuh kita terkonsentrasi untuk melakukan pembakaran, sehingga otak kekurangan oksigen dan menjadi ngantuk. So, tipsnya adalah makan secukupnya, kalau ngantuk, ingat inhale dan exhale supaya banyak oksigen yang masuk dalam tubuh :) 

Sore hari paling menyenangkan berkumpul dengan teman-teman. Gue punya komunitas yang isinya orang-orang yang terbuka, saling share tentang kehidupan mereka, dan saling mendukung satu sama lain.I'm so grateful for them, karena mereka selalu support gue dalam mengejar impian gue. Karena ada aja temen yang bukannya mendukung kelebihan, eh malah menekankan pada kekurangan dan membuat lo down. Teman yang baik seharusnya mengingatkan dan menguatkan, bukan mengingatkan lalu menjatuhkan bukan? Hehe Remember, your friends create your world

Bareng teman-teman, kita sedang mulai misi makan malam yang sehat. Kadang ada yang pengen makanan yang aneh-aneh, kita saling mengingatkan supaya ga terlalu sering makanan berat. Nah, salah satu tempat favorit kita untuk hangout dan dinner bersama adalah Food Hall di Grand Indonesia. Di Food Hall, mereka menjual berbagai jenis salad, dan juga ada meat station. Kita bisa memilih daging mana yang kita mau makan, lalu minta chef di Food Hall untuk memanggang atau dibuat steak. Yumm..! Fresh and healthy food banget! Selain itu, di Food Hall juga banyak menjual buah-buahan, atau jus jeruk yang masih fresh. All you need are available here! 

Pas weekend, gue memanfaatkan waktu untuk hangout dengan keluarga ataupun teman. Tapi, keluarga tetap jadi prioritas. Beberapa waktu inipun, temen-temen banyak yang mengingatkan gue untuk appreciate waktu yang ada, dan jangan sampai ada penyesalan di masa depan akan keputusan di masa sekarang. Instantly gue inget dengan keluarga, bokap nyokap gue yang sudah cukup berumur, dan gue merasa gue menjauh dari mereka karena kesibukan gue. So gue berkomitmen, setiap holiday gue akan memprioritaskan acara keluarga dibandingkan acara dengan teman-teman. 

Tips di hari Minggu : jangan ke mall. wkwk Its me; i hate mall on Saturday and Sunday. Kayak pasar banget! Gue lebih prefer Minggu yang tenang dengan keluarga atau teman, bisa pergi ke restoran tapi yang tidak di dalam mall, atau bisa-bisa pusing duluan dengan parkiran boo! Minggu juga bisa jadi hari pilihan kamu untuk melakukan hobi-hobi yang ga bisa dilakukan di weekdays. Semisal : baca buku, nulis blog, scrapbooking, bowling maybe, atau keluar kota untuk rafting. 

Kalau lo bingung mau ngapain, coba baca buku @ReneCC yang judulnya Your Job is Not Your Career. Di buku itu banyak bicara tentang passion dan bagaimana cara menemukannya. Salah satu kegiatan yang pernah dia lakukan adalah kegiatan Misi21. Misi 21 adalah melakukan 1 hal baru yang berbeda-beda setiap harinya selama 21 hari. Rene men-chalange Misi 21 untuk memfasilitasi kita menemukan passion kita. Passion kadang tidak ditemukan begitu saja, makanya diperlukan "pengalaman" supaya kita bisa menjajal semua kegiatan dan menemukan mana sih yang sesuai dengan kita.

Penutup dari gue cukup simple : live your life to the fullest! No room for regret and keep moving forward! Cheers!

4 Ridiculously Yummy Healthy Foods

Healthy foods. Somehow when i think about that i remember about vegetables and i have so many bad memories when my mom forced me to eat vege when i was a child(i hate vege!). But thank God for technology, they break the belief that healthy food is only vegetables. Yes, here’s top 4 healthy food that i really love and some recommendation for you!

1.     Egg yolks 

Egg has been my very good friend on my diet program. It’s the perfect breakfast for me to start my day, because 2 boiled eggs will reducing 400 calories needs of the day, and it keeps me full at least until lunch time : D. Moreover, egg containts Omega-3 acids and antiocidants that may help prevent macular degeneration.

My recommendation: or try something new: egg benedicts. Its American traditional breakfast, only take 20minutes to make it. Or, for instants, try Jack Rabbit Restaurant. They serve the best egg benedicts, with English muffins, gruyere cheese, smoked ham, spinach & poached eggs, grilled tomato & asparagus, side salad and sauce. Yumm…!

2.     Salmon

Salmon, one of the most beautiful dishes in the world! I usually enjoy salmon sashimi at sushi bar; and I never knew about the benefit of consuming salmon until I read an article about it. Salmon’s fatty can smoothing your skin; It’s all what ladies need, isn’t it?

My recommendation: buy a salmon fillet from the market and cook It by yourself! Season salmon fillet as desired, usually i smear it with olive oil, black pepper, little bit salt, and rosemarry. Put it into the oven; wait until 10minutes; and Woalaa! Your own homemade salmon is done! Btw, Otel Lobby (located in Epicentrum) serves grilled salmon with fried mussels, beet puree, and herb-ed apple sauce. Its a little bit expensive, but worth a try.

3.     Fat Free Milk

Afraid gain more weight and delete milk on your list like I did? Fat free milk is our solution! It does a body good: Vitamin D contained in milk is a super nutrient in its own right! But I think fat free milk not as tasty as ordinary milk, so sometimes I add chocolate powder into it. 

My recommendation: instead of water, use milk for your morning oatmeal. You can add honey into it, or maybe some fruits to add some freshness. Yummm..! Cimory, a restaurant that sell dairy milk; has their own farms so they can produce super fresh milk. Though they located at Puncak, but Cimory Milk distributed to Jakarta, you can find it at your local store J

4.     Tofu

Who doesn’t like tofu? Smooth, silky and sweet tofu.. Yumm! My mom loves to cook Sapo Tahu, it’s a mixed vege with oyster sauce, chicken and fried tofu; she knows exactly how to win my heart! Do you know that Tofu and soymilk help you to fight heart disease? Yes, tofu is that good, it wins my heart too!

My recommendation: stick with whole soy foods rather than processed foods, like patties or chips, made with soy powder. Or you can make it by yourself; it’s simple and you can adjust the consistency as you desire J if you are lucky, you might find people selling soymilk on the roadside, one i know is at Glodok; their soymilk is so fresh! 

Eat Eco-Friendly Food

                Food is everything to all human beings. Yeah of course it is!  Not only can it give us energy to do our daily activities and keep us alive, our food also has enormous impact on the life of animals and plants (the latter is surely no less important than the former!).

            At first, I don’t really notice that what we eat does matter until a couple weeks ago my environmentalist friend forwarded an article through email talking about “how our food choices could save the earth”.  Once I read it, I just realized how significant our concern over food choices to environment and the earth is. So, I tried to figure out more about what I can do with my food on the plate. From a lot of articles I read, I listed the 3 most possible things to do for me in starting green living to food. 

1. Minimize Meat

                The FAO report in 2006 stated that red meat production has a bigger impact on global warming than all the planes, trains, buses, and cars on the planet combined. Wow, it’s so shocking! Moreover, another study said if we want to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, it’s way better to give up red meat than to buy a hybrid car.

            I've been thinking to start to minimize meat consumption as possible as I can since it significantly help the environment. Hmm.. It doesn’t mean I wanna be a vegan instantly. It’s not easy to change an eating habit and even I haven’t been ready to become completely vegan. But, at least, I can try to cut back on the meat in my diet by only eating plant-based food a day or two each week.

            Talking about plant-based food, in Jakarta there are some restaurants which serve this kind of food. One of well-known restaurants is Loving Hut. They serve all dishes which are cooked without meat, seafood, eggs, and milk. I’ve visited them once and I think their foods are nice. 

2. Buy Local Food

                Buying food from local suppliers will also support sustainable environment. Why? Transporting food long distances uses too much energy so if we purchase food produced locally, we help to eliminate the need for all that fuel-guzzling transportation. Another benefit of buying local food is to help local farmers and local economy as well. 

3. Organic Food

                In the past 10 years, there has been an increase demand in organic food.  It’s commonly known that organic food contains no chemical fertilizer, pesticides and preservatives. Yes! Organic food is certainly good for our health. Most importantly, organic food is also better for environment. Did you know organic farming practices can help decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air? And did you realize that organic farming use less energy? 

           
         Okay, I admit organic food is way more expensive than conventional food. But why don’t  we try to being organic at least one day in each week too? Small change still can make big impact. I really believe in that! Hehehe

            So, where can we buy organic food in this town? As far as I know, some supermarkets in Jakarta supply organic food. A best example is The Food Hall, whose branches are located in several malls in Jakarta.  At The Food Hall, you can find certain organic products such as soup, cereal, juices, jams and honey, pasta, biscuits, and other items. Another well-known place to have organic food is Organic Vegetables owned by Melly Manuhutu, an artis from 90s era. This shop is located in Pejaten Barat, Jakarta Selatan. In this place you can buy a variety of organic vegetables with affordable price. They say this shop sells cheaper fresh vegetables than the ones in supermarket! Hmm.. I have to prove it by myself soon!

Okay, let’s start to eat eco-friendly food from now on! :)